Thursday, January 30, 2014

I initially considered that this letter should be addressed to Senator Kevin DeLeon only. On reflection, given the gravity of the attack on a fundamental civil right embodied in Senate Bill 808, I suspect the entire Senate should read these words:

Defiance.

Disobedience.

Conspiracy.

Rebellion.

Should the Assembly pass a version of SB 808, and should Governor Brown sign that legislation, the above words are what you will reap. I have drawn my line in the sand. I will no longer allow you to defecate your misplaced verbiage on my fundamental human rights.

The State has no right, and certainly no moral or ethical grounds, to interfere with what I may or may not build in my garage.

The State has no basis in fact to claim that such interference will reduce levels of violent crime.

The State sponsor of SB 808 has no factual or functional grasp on the subject matter he seeks to regulate and infringe.

In short, I will defy your law. I will disobey the State and all its agents. I will conspire to assist others in doing the same. I will rebel against this infringement on my civil rights and this incursion into my sphere of privacy.

Make no mistake, I fully understand that to defy the likes of State power necessarily invites the risk of punishment and penalty. If you like, you may start by taking away my license to practice law. You may try to arrest me, try me, and imprison me. I will make every effort to live free. I will not live in fear of your immoral and unjust exercise of authority.

I have been a law-abiding gun owner for a long time. Retaining the title of "law-abiding" requires that I continually cede bits and pieces of my fundamental rights in the names of "security", and "safety". The premise that doing so is somehow sensible stands at odds with notions of justice and fairness, not to mention logic and reason. I can no longer follow your edicts in good conscience. I am obligated to follow just laws, and free to ignore those laws which are unjust. This bill is an example of injustice and a corruption of reason.

I will continue to actively recruit other like-minded individuals (if any exist) to stand united in defiance of your folly. No longer shall we pass silently into the night.